06 November 2007

The Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) has announced on Tuesday the outline of their counter-proposal to the new anti-terror law bill that was submitted to the Diet (Japanese parliament) by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party. In their 12-point proposal, the DPJ laid out the fundamental principles of their assistance package for Afghanistan. One of the points in the proposal included a provision on establishing a UN Emergency Peace Service or UNEPS.

On the same day, almost all major Japanese newspaper (including the Asahi, Mainichi, and Sankei) covered the UNEPS inclusion in their breaking-news reports. Most notably, The Sankei Shinbum reported that the proposal included the establishment of basic principles for the authorized use of armed force under Chapter VII of the UN Charter as well as the current National Constitution, and under that basis that Japan "will assume a leadership role in establishing aUN Emergency Peace Service composed of civilian and military personnel for peacebuilding efforts."

An excerpt of the original proposal (with the original footnotes) read as follows:

"Basic principles shall be stipulated for the exercise of use of force in self-defense under the National Constitution as well as the use of force under the collective security provision under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter.[1] As part of its UN reform effort, Japan will assume a leadership role in establishing a UN Emergency Peace Service or UNEPS.[2]”

[1]For the exercise of use of force under the collective security provision, the principles laid out in the Responsibility to Protect document adopted as the UN World Summit Meeting Outcome Document on September 2005 shall be stipulated. Accordingly, use of arms provision will be based on internationally accepted standards.

[2]UNEPS (United Nations Emergency Peace Service) is a voluntary civil-military hybrid service under the direct auspices of the UN with individuals participating based on free will.

13 September 2007

The following document is a set of studies conducted by the NDL, the National Diet Library of Japan, under the request of the Office of Senator Tadashi Inuzuka, on the feasibility of the UN Emergency Peace Service initiative from two perspectives: (I) constitutionality, and (II) historical analysis of the UN peace operations concerning the establishment of a standing rapid deployment force composed of willing and capable individuals.

During the 1991 Gulf War, the government has helped deliver the funding for the war with the condition of not having the funds used for supplying arms and ammunition. However, this was a political decision and not due to constitutional constraints. For example, in 1992, the government went ahead to deliver the funding of the operation in Somalia with no precondition while recognizing the potential of it being used for supplying arms and ammunition:

“The ‘use of force' as prohibited in Article 9 of the Constitution is a conceptual terminology for ‘acts of combat' that refers to acts resorting to force. From such perspective, we have thus stated repeatedly on numerous occasions in our government responses that since delivery of funds does not constitute a concept of ‘use of force,’ it does not fall under the category of criterion stipulated in Article 9 that prohibits the use of force, and therefore is constitutional.”

--Statement by Omori Masasuke, then-Director-General of the First Department of Cabinet Legislation Bureau at the Upper House Committee on Cabinet in the 125th National Diet, 8 December 1992.

Provision of bases:

On 16 December 1959, the appeals court for the so-called “Sunagawa” case that dealt with the stationing of the U.S. troops ruled that foreign forces do not constitute a ‘war potential' as stipulated under Section 2 of Article 9:

“The possession of ‘war potential’ prohibited under the applicable clause (note: Section 2 of Article 9), refers to a potential with which the right to control and command are principally exercised by the state, which in turn refers to the state’s war potential. It should be therefore comprehended that foreign services, even though if they are stationed in our soil, would constitute a war potential as mentioned herein.”

--The Grand Bench of the Supreme Court ruling made at 16 December 1959

Japanese national(s) participating in a foreign service based on free will:

“Under the Constitution, Japanese national(s) applying as volunteer servicemen in a foreign military do not pose any constitutional problem, provided that such national(s) will apply for volunteer service based on his/her free will.”

--Statement by Takeo Ohashi, then-Director-General of the Legal Affairs Bureau at the Upper House Special Committee on Peace Treaties and Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between Japan and the United States of America in the 12th National Diet, 29 October 1951.

However, it must be noted that this statement does not consider the possibility of state’s involvement in some form in the recruitment of volunteers.

II. Individual Participation in UN Peace Operations

1. UN Guard Force initiatives

A pre-PKO proposal made by then-Secretary General Trygve Lie in 1947

Characteristics:

SG responsible for recruitment

Utilization can be delegated to the Security Council or the General Assembly

Deployed under the provisional measures of Article 40 of the Charter for; residential referendum under UN auspices, fulfillment of peace agreement, protection of UN missionaries, and policing mandates under international governance, etc.

Intended initial size of troops to be at 800 with up to maximum of few thousand, 300 of which will be active personnel and 500 would be reserves stationed back in the originating state.

The personnel status of the contingent will be a 'UN Secretariat employee'.

Reactions:

Former-Soviet Union states insisted that the Security Council can only have its own forces for disposal under Article 43 and otherwise illegal

Other states critical for financial reasons and due to concern of possible clashes with the local military

2. Post-90’s initiative

Several rapid deployment initiatives were proposed from the failures of Somalia and Rwanda to establish a permanent UN force, i.e., proposal by then Secretary General Sir Brian Urquhart in 1993 and proposal by the Netherlands in 1995 (UN Doc.A/49/886-S/1995/276).

Characteristics (background, merits/demerits):

Increase in internal conflicts and humanitarian intervention

Need for rapid deployment to prevent deterioration of conflict situations

Expectations in its interoperability, effectiveness, and political neutrality for its permanent nature

Logistic transports would be dependent on big states like the U.S.

The idea is not necessarily excluded from the Charter but are not inclusive

Some states prefer that UN does not retain its own armed forces

Cost-wise, it would be lower than the expenses incurred for Rwanda

Problem of right personnel being appointed to right positions

There are criticisms that this might ignite the revival of mercenaries. But conventional wisdom rules that having states voluntarily contribute their troops is more problematic

Gaps in decision-making between North and South. Some Southern states with less opportunities to intervene may consider the proposal as neo-colonialist approach

Quantitative gap for selectivity of involvement; analyses of relationship between situations and troop sizes to be contributed, necessity of regional organization forces, etc.

30 July 2007

During the Senatorial election that just ended Sunday, Senator Inuzuka was interviewed over the phone by a French RFI (Radio France Internationale) correspondant in Paris for a very brief moment. The interview was aired on radio on the Thursday 26th. The following is the original article and its full English translation.

Tadashi Inuzuka

Senator of Minshuto, The Japanese Democratic Party

26 July 2007, RFINathalie Tourret

“There are only 65 million pension beneficiaries in Japan and the government lost 50 million of those files। So they lost trace of more than 80%! The figure is immense, and for certain files it takes up to 40 years back to trace them!”

So the sign of “defeat” is everywhere around Shinzo Abe in the upcoming senatorial elections. The voting will take place on Sunday while Prime Minister’s party, the LDP, suffers almost nonstop decline in its popularity polls. Several scandals, including the disappearance of 50 million pension files, have recently tarnished its image.

However, the LDP majority led by Shinzo Abe is short of only 10 seats to achieve absolute majority। The opposition thus waits eagerly!

23 July 2007

Liberation features Senator Inuzuka as "Samurai in Pursuit of the Responsibility to Protect"

Before the closing of the last General Session of the Diet in July, Senator Inuzuka had an interview with Mr. Michel Teman, a freelance reporter from Rapporteurs Sans Frontières (RSF). The following is a full English translation of his article that was posted on the online version of the Libération, a major French newspaper.

"At last, " said the Senator. "At last, Japan will become state party to the International Criminal Court!" Democrat Senator Tadashi Inuzuka's voice echoed in his office 318 at the Member of the House of Councillors office in Tokyo.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) is the newly established international court in the Hague that prosecute genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. There are 104 states that are party to the Court.

"This is the culmination of all the efforts put in for the past seven years by me and other dedicated people. This is also a historic moment for Japan."

With the aid of multitude of people, from Foreign Ministry officials and non-governmental organizations, Inuzuka was able to win approval to ratify the ICC treaty. But according to an anonymous junior officer in the Diet, the approval was in fact “not something that was won,” because none of the fellow lawmakers even knew what ICC is when Inuzuka first urged that Japan should ratify the ICC Statute in the Diet. In other words, it wasn’t an issue at all in the first place.

At 52, Senator Inuzuka can only be characterized as being the “break-the-mold” type for a lawmaker. He speaks fluent English, and even French because his wife is French. During election, he tours around universities giving American-style lectures and communicate with his constituents through the Internet blogs. His attire also stands out. In the Diet, he seldom wears a tie. His preference is a Mao collar suite.

IdealsRaised in Nagasaki, Inuzuka was not born to a family of politicians. Instead, he represented the common people. His folks made a living out of fisheries. The path diverges for young Inuzuka when he entered a college in the United States for an MBA. He then started his own business. Ten years before he run for Senator, Inuzuka had a restaurant in Tokyo and a hotel in Hawaii.

The turning point was January 17, 1995, the day of the Kobe earthquake. The poor management and response at the site disgruntled him when the region faced a death toll of 6,400 people with more than 40,000 injured. That was when he met the people from Médecins sans Frontières (MSF: Doctors without Borders) and Médecins du Monde (MDM: Doctors of the World)

”They were my heroes. They work to help others, under extreme conditions, risking their own well-being with little finance.”

Along with Gaël Austin, a consultancy owner in Tokyo, Inuzuka helps establish the Japanese chapter of the MDM. While some people in Tokyo aspire to become “a military power that can contribute to world peace", Inuzuka aspires to become the world’s first “moral power”.

True CooperationInuzuka’s mentor is not the old Samurai teachings but the new head of French diplomacy and former doctor, Bernard Kouchner। His name never ceases to come out of Inuzuka’s mouth. Like Kouchner, Inuzuka advocates for the values of Responsibility to Protect versus states that fail to protect its own people. “Japan must realize the value of intervening in affairs that none do,” he said. “Japan should widen its horizon. Although it is perfectly understandable to be concerned of the abduction issue with the North Koreans that occurred in the early 80’s, the Japanese people should not forget that there are over million North Koreans who are dying of starvation or that more than 40,000 children are being abducted yearly in India. The Japanese people should be considered about what goes on within its borders but outside too, that there are people suffering outside our borders.”

His conviction was certified when he visited Sudan’s Darfur in 2006.

”In the Kalma Refugee Camp, I witnessed the sight of pain and agony that I’ve never seen before. That's when I thought that there is something Japan can do about it. That we can work with the UN and NGOs to do a better job. Japan’s simply lousy when it comes to development assistance. But we have our achievements. We’ve become an economic power from the ashes of 1945. We have our experience. But we should not stop here. Japan should take a more proactive step. Creating a new economic, social, and humanitarian norm is one such step. Checkbook diplomacy is thing of a past. It isn’t sufficient anymore.”

So Inuzuka came up with a concrete plan toward this in the Diet. He proposed the establishment of a new “Human Security Centre” to train peace workers to be dispatched to war-torn regions or to tackle starvation. The Upper House Special Committee on Official Development Assistance recently adopted this proposal.

”It is indeed difficult to eradicate all causes of conflicts. But we can always help the victims of those conflicts.”

19 July 2007

UNITED NATIONS, May 2 (Reuters) - Japan intends to become a party to the International Criminal Court in October, with some of its supporters hoping the tribunal will add nuclear warfare to its official list of crimes against humanity.

Sen. Tadashi Inuzuka of Nagasaki, in New York to relate his years of campaigning for the ICC, said in an interview on Tuesday that Japan's approval of the court's statutes was "good timing to show we care about humanitarian issues" following continuing controversy about Tokyo's World War Two history.

On April 27, the Japanese Diet's upper house unanimously approved the country's accession to the court, after the cabinet in February submitted legislation to parliament.

A total of 104 nations have ratified a 1998 Rome Treaty creating the first permanent global criminal court to prosecute individuals for heinous crimes -- evoking memories of the Nuremberg tribunal that tried Nazi leaders and the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal at the end of World War Two.

Final steps to process the bill into law and deposit papers with the United Nations are expected by Oct. 1, said Inuzuka, an officer of the Parliamentarians for Global Action, a network of 1,200 legislators from 117 parliaments that campaigned for the Hague-based ICC.

Of the millions of pages of records of trials in the post-World War Two tribunal, Inuzuka said "there is not one single word" of the atom bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the United States to end the war in the Pacific in 1945.

He said that in "2009 we want to include (nuclear warfare) as a crime against humanity."

But Inuzuka said "we are still having a hard time to gain respect" and the latest controversy over "comfort women" did not help.

Last month, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe caused a furor in Asia and the United States when he said there was no evidence the Japanese military had coerced women into sex slavery in World War Two. On March 16, his position was endorsed by the cabinet as the official government position.

Still, Japan's ratification is significant in Asia. And Tokyo will give the fledgling court a financial boost as its highest payer, at an estimated 16 percent, Inuzuka said.

Few Asian countries have joined the ICC, with China and India showing little interest. And the Bush administration has vigorously opposed the tribunal, although it allowed the U.N. Security Council to refer Sudan to the ICC.

Compared to Germany, one of the prime movers to establish the ICC, Japan ignored the court for years, even though it was active in the 1998 conference that wrote the statutes.

One reason, scholars say, was the 1946-1948 allied-run military court, regarded by many as politically biased, with some serious war criminals escaping prosecution and regaining power. The emperor was also spared.

Inuzuka said he encountered few firm objections to the court but "a shortage of political will" -- and little interest by many lawyers in putting in more hours in a busy day.

18 June 2007

(Tokyo - 13 June 2007) The Upper House Special Committee on Official Development Assistance and Related Matters on Wednesday adopted an interim report on the status of the Japanese Official Development Assistance (ODA), which included a recommendation to the Cabinet to establish a Human Security Centre (tentative name) for capacity building of individual peace workers and establishing job security (a career path) for all personnel working overseas on government mission.

The Committee, led by Deputy Chief Director of the Cabinet Office MASAAKIYAMAZAKI (LDP) and also where Senator TADASHIINUZUKA (DPJ) plays a leading role as Head Director, have unanimously adopted the recommendation included in the interim report entitled, "Towards New Forms of International Assistance". With the presence of Mme. SADAKOOGATA, the President of JICA or Japan International Cooperation Agency, Prime Minister SHINZO ABE said he would consider the recommendation for adoption in the Cabinet.

Below is an excerpt from the section on Human Security Centre (unofficial translation).

(1) Establishment of a Human Security Centre (tentative name)Development of personnel capacity is of utmost significance to our Committee when considering the future of development assistance. We must expand our assistance budget in this area of development assistance. In particular, we are in pressing need of individuals who can strategically facilitate innovation and discovery of new items as well as those who can commit themselves in peace building efforts.

For example, for the development of peace-building personnel, formulation of an integrated and comprehensive training program which incorporates a variety of fields such as emergency humanitarian relief, development assistance, governance support, and peace-keeping operations would be necessary to increase the number of assistance experts. Personnel development and training has already been discussed in the report submitted in 2002 by the Advisory Group on International Cooperation for Peace and further refurbished by the proposal from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in developing a "School to build peace builders". Studies are also underway at the new Ministry of Defense to setup a training center for international peace operations.

Although these efforts are to be commended, the training framework to be set up by the government, JICA, and others must not delve into the pitfall of bureaucratic sectionalism. Instead, practical division of labor, communication and coordination must be set in place to enable efficient execution of development assistance, peace-building, and peace-keeping operations.

With all of these past achievements well accounted for, we recommend to put into perspective the establishment of a Human Security Centre (tentative name) where experienced field personnel and researchers from within Japan and from abroad can participate in a robust and comprehensive training program to facilitate the development of a central hub training center in Asia.

The meeting was followed by a press conference and the news was covered in all of the major newspapers in Japan such as the Nikkei, the Yomiuri, and Sankei (none available in English).

The possibility of the current administration to consider this proposal could open up the path to establishing a standing group of peace-operators composed of willing individuals, constructing the basis of a new form of contribution in Japan's future international peace operations.